Available now!
Photo by Yunseo Cho
A fierce and moving exploration of British Chinese identity and a rallying cry against East and Southeast Asian racism
‘I may not yet feel fully British, but my family and I have made Britain our home. This book is for my daughters, so they can see themselves reflected in this country.'
It was during a trip to a museum in 2014 that Daisy Hung first recalls being incorrectly labelled as a tourist – a trend that has continued since she settled in the UK, regardless of the documents she has gathered. From assumptions that she speaks Mandarin or that she’s from China, to hearing the continued use of offensive and culturally insensitive terms, such as ‘Oriental’ and ‘Chinese whispers’, she has consistently felt othered, despite being a British citizen and having only once visited Hong Kong and China.
In I Am Not a Tourist, Daisy explores what it means to be British Chinese today, and the social, historical and political factors that have got us here. Fighting narrow and dehumanising stereotypes, of Chinese people excelling at school, or being devoid of original thought or leadership, or having authoritarian parents, she encourages readers to interrogate their assumptions and interpretations of ‘Chinese’ identity.
In the wake of the upsurge of anti-Asian racism, triggered by the racialisation of the COVID-19 pandemic as the ‘China virus’, ‘China plague’ and ‘Kung flu’, I Am Not a Tourist exposes the ongoing racism and inequalities that British Chinese communities face, and forms an urgent call for change.
Published by:
Book announcement:
Audiobook news!
Katie Leung, actor and writer, best known for her roles in Harry Potter, Arcane: League of Nations, and recently cast for Bridgerton season 4, will narrate the I am Not a Tourist audiobook! Katie also wrote the chapter ‘Getting into Character’, in the book, East Side Voices: Essays celebrating East & Southeast Asian identity in Britain.
What People Are Saying
‘I AM NOT A TOURIST is an important and poignant insight into the British Chinese community, often coined the silent minority. Thank you for giving us a voice and a seat at the table. A brilliant read.’
— Helen Tse, MBE, author of Sweet Mandarin
‘In these troubling times, identity is of paramount importance. Growing up, I lacked any real nuanced reflections of people like me, of British and East Asian heritage. This book is a much-needed work’
— Lucy Sheen, actor, writer and filmmaker
‘Daisy J. Hung has the great gift as a writer to not only listen but to be able to weave into her narrative the core and intent of what she has heard, with genuine honesty and truth. An important new voice in our East and Southeast Asian community in Britain.’
— David Yip, actor
‘The compelling complexities of the British Chinese experience – an ethnic diaspora group so often reduced to twee exotic irrelevance (as much by ourselves as anyone else) – are vividly and thoroughly explored in Daisy J. Hung’s seminal game-changer of a book. Lovingly researched, passionately examined and shot through with very real personal reflections.’
— Daniel York Loh, actor, writer and director
‘To have one’s unique experience included in a collection like this makes the diaspora experience feel like a collective journey – that for all our individuality we are a rich community of contributors to British life.’
— Chipo Chung, actor and activist
‘A personal yet pertinent document redressing what the author incisively calls the "active forgetting" of Chinese people in Britain. Intelligent, heartfelt, impressively accessible.’
— Vera Chok, performance maker and poet
‘Daisy J. Hung unpacks bureaucratic contradictions with intellectual precision and human understanding. This book combines deeply personal narratives with detailed policy analysis to examine what it truly means to navigate British society as an East and Southeast Asian person. A vital resource that challenges oversimplified narratives about migration, nationality and belonging in contemporary Britain’.
— Peyvand Sadeghian, actor and writer
'If you’re looking to expand your understanding of the community, this book is an essential addition to your reading list.’